punkdork

So I've heard recently that the Bel 980 and Passport 8500 are supposed to be better than the V1. I've heard the Bel 980 is supposed to be the best. I've seen the Bels on ebay for ~215 and the Escorts for ~260. This makes it look like perhaps there is more demand for Escorts. Anyone have any input?

Y2KevSE

iTrader: (13)

Ohh ohh... there was a big discussion on this before. <b>Please use the search feature.</b> If you don't know where it's located, look at the upper right corner of the page. Click on the search link. Enter in the radars as your keywords and search in the 5th gen forum.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but a little reminder is good.

punkdork

Man I'm just lazy, where's my quick answer!? Okay... I'll go search.

Maxima-Ness

get the passport 8500, less false signals

punkdork

Okay.. incase anyone is interested, you can go to <a href="https://maxima.org/forums/showthread.phtml?threadid=13199">this thread</a>. What I got from it was that they are all pretty good detectors. Most v1 owners seemed to believe the tests were unreasonably harsh on the v1. I think I'll be getting the 980 personally. I like the price/performance ratio.

Nine7Max

It works really well and is a good $200 cheaper than the V1. Only thing I like about the V1 is it has a radar detector pointing out the back window too, you miss that with all others.

punkdork

I figure by the time someone tags me from behind its over.

TwoMaxMan

I received a $125 ticket for going 70 in the 55 this morning courtesy of the Manitowoc County Sherrif (WI). My ten year old cordless Solo was inside of its leather case in the glove compartment. I was not using the detector because I was protesting the fact that the audible feature crapped out last week--stupid me. I am in the market for a new detector.

I have been reading the detector comarisons published in Car and Driver for many years. C&D has always ranked the V1 far better than anything else. Could a new and cheaper detector be as good or better? I hate to spend $400 dollars on something that can't play a CD. Keep the posts rolling.

brubenstein

There are several places on the net that have reports on radar detectors. http://www.speedzones.com/index.html is one of them. There are different takes as to which one is the best, but all agree that the V1, Bel 980 and Escort 8500 are the top three. Electronics progress faster than C&D tests do. I, for one, will get the Bel 980 in a month or two. At a bit over $200 it looks like the best buy. It's probably false economy to get a $100, but I don't think you have to get the most expensive either for decent performance.

TwoMaxMan

I've seen the light? I was brainwashed. I think C&D's overwelming preference for the V1 combined with my reluctance to pluck down $400 for a V1 shut my eyes to doing additional research.

I now think I'll buy the Escort 8500. Although the Bel looks to be as good, the durability of my 10 year old magnesium cased Escort Solo has made me an Escort loyalist. I hope that the new ones are just as tough. Now it's a matter of shopping for price. (In response to the original post, it is my bet that the Escort is selling for more than the Bel on E-bay has to do with the Escort being a new model, as both models have equal performance and MSRP.)

V1 is not happy with conclusions of Radartest.com (http://www.valentine1.com/lab/V1Hater.asp). Perhaps V1 should work on an improved product rather than to defend against what seems like valid critisms.

MrBurner

i have a v1 and i am planning on keeping it...for one, i basically bought it because it won almost every test it has been in with other detectors. i also have it hardwired in the car and it would be a ***** to remove...2) i like it because it is the only detector to my knowledge that tells you where the radar is coming from...once you have this feature, you will understand that it will save you more than once...it is also the only detector w/ front and back radar and it is made out of metal which holds up much better in the heat...i am pretty happy with it and it has saved me from over 20 tickets (just a rough estimate)...the pictures make it look much bigger than it is...i am happy w/ it, but i really don't have anything to compare it to...you get what you pay for, remember that